Spectrum Designs held its fifth annual Night in White party on Thursday, July 30, at North Hempstead Country Club. The evening honored community philanthropists Debbie and John Bowman. The event raised more than $130,000 (and counting) for Spectrum Designs, with an outstanding amount of support coming from individuals and foundations affiliated with Goldman Sachs, where John Bowman is a managing director. It was the most successful fundraiser to date in five years. The dinner sponsors were Manhasset residents, Loren and Wayne King.
Spectrum Designs Cofounder and President Patrick Bardsley said, “It was another memorable night in Spectrum Designs’ history. We continue to be overwhelmed and humbled by the support of our local community. Whether you support Spectrum Designs through donations, apparel orders or simply spreading the word about our exceptional employees, we wholeheartedly thank you.” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio attended the event and presented a proclamation to Debbie and John Bowman.
Debbie and John Bowman have two teenage daughters who were both diagnosed with learning disabilities at a young age. The Bowmans value the importance of early intervention as well as the need for school-based programs to ensure the successful education of special needs students. Debbie has been active in serving the Manhasset community, in particular the special education community, for many years. She has served as an officer on the board of the Manhasset Parent Association for Special Education (PASE) since 2007. In her roles as vice president from 2007-09 and president from 2009-13, she has led the development of the PASE website and numerous after-school academic and social programs for special needs students in Manhasset.
Since 2004, Debbie has served in both leadership roles and as a volunteer for school-related events and activities for the Manhasset School Community Association (SCA). In addition, Debbie served on the PTA and was an active fundraiser for the School for Language and Communication Development (SLCD) from 2004-06 while her younger daughter attended their preschool program.
John is a managing director at Goldman Sachs in the merchant banking division, with his career spanning almost 20 years. Throughout his years at Goldman, he has been an active participant in its signature community-service program known as Community Teamworks. He has served as division champion and team captain for individual projects, working with organizations such as New York Cares, FreeArts NYC and Habitat for Humanity.
Spectrum Designs, located in Port Washington, is a customized apparel decorating shop, which boasts an integrated workforce of people with and without special needs, creating printed promotional items for business, organizations and the community at large. Spectrum is a nonprofit social enterprise whose mission is to alleviate the void for employment and job training for teens and young adults living with autism. Currently 90 percent of this population are underemployed. More than a dozen young adults with autism are competitively employed at Spectrum Designs, and more than 25 teens participate weekly for employment training and classes on apparel decorating.
Spectrum is looking to expand its thriving business to serve the needs of the hundreds of young adults graduating from high school each year, while also keeping up with the demands of its growing customer base. Spectrum was recently awarded local grants from the Manhasset Community Fund, the North Shore Autism Circle and the Community Chest of Port Washington. Spectrum looks to stay and grow in its flagship location with future hopes to expand to satellite locations across Long Island. Their next big event, the Second Annual Golf Outing at the Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence, is on Sept. 28. For more information about Spectrum Designs go to www.spectrumdesigns.org or call 516-767-7187.
